Music videos are one of the few topics about music that feel universal. Everybody has seen plenty in their lives, and everyone remembers at least one that has left a mark. Like small films that try to translate the content of a song into an image, there are different styles and forms. A form of artistic expression itself, music videos allow great freedom to those who know how to use it to tell a story. That’s why many young filmmakers start in this field.Spike Jonzeis perhaps one of the best examples, making his name first as a great music video director and then transitioning to the big screen. But every so often, even seasoned directors want to try their hands on music videos, likeSteven Spielbergrecently did inMarcus Mumford’s “Cannibal.” So here are some iconic music videos that you may recognize, all of them directed by great film directors.
RELATED:7 Music Videos Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson That Reflect His Feature Films
Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim (dir. Spike Jonze)
Anyone who grew up at the turn of the millennium hasChristopher Walkenmarked not only for his accomplished career in Hollywood but also for his iconic performance in Fatboy Slim’s video for “Weapon of Choice”. The image of him dancing through the halls of an empty hotel is for sure one of the most iconic in music video history.
Walken is a trained dancer by the Washington Dance Studio, and he explained inaTheater Talkinterviewthat he was a chorus boy who toured musicals such asWest Side Story, all before he made a name for himself in movies . The opportunity came whenhe expressed his desire to get his dancing on film, while Spike Jonze was searching for someone to do the music video. The idea itself came from Jonze, who revealed his dad used to stay at a Marriott hotel when visiting him: “I just imagined my dad at these hotels, traveling around the country, the mundane, repetitive, numbing quality of that. The idea was like the fantasy that kind of comes out of that,“he told The Nine Club in 2018.
This video is also one of the best Spike Jonze-directed music videos and won many awards at the 2001 MTV VMAs, as well as the Grammy for Best Music Video in 2002. Jonze is a master in the field, and has many other successful iconic videos, such as theBeastie Boys' “Sabotage”,Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” andBjörk’s “Oh So Quiet”.
I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself - The White Stripes (dir. Sofia Coppola)
Very rarely do we get a combination of choices as perfect as for the 2003 music video of “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself,” theWhite Stripes' heavier version of theBurt Bacharachclassic. As the song plays out,Kate Moss, another iconic name of the 2000s, pole dances on screen, everything set toSofia Coppola’s directing. The alluring vibe of the video makes it one of the best and sexiest of that decade, and uniquely captures Coppola’s style and expression. Known for classics likeThe Virgin SuicidesandLost in Translation, she is also an accomplished music video director, a fact that comes as no surprise since music is often one of the key elements in her films. Other iconic works of hers includePhoenix’s “Chloroform” andAir’s “Playground Love” - two bands that are featured heavily in her work.
Under the Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers (dir. Gus Van Sant)
The video for theRed Hot Chili Pepperssong “Under The Bridge” is a piece that perfectly captures the essence of the 1990s. The saturated colors, superimposed images of the band playing, and many other effects are typical of that time period. It won two awards at the 1992 VMAs and was a constant in MTV’s programming throughout the whole decade. Directed byGus Van Sant, the theme of the clip echoes that of the song itself. In the lyrics, singerAnthony Kiedistalks about loneliness and finding solace “in the city he lives in” - Los Angeles. To make this feeling explicit, he walks through the streets of LA, sings to the people he passes through, and visits other iconic locations in town, such as the LA river channel. More than an ode to the city itself, the song speaks of the feeling of community and being part of a whole, even in one’s darkest moments.
Vogue - Madonna (dir. David Fincher)
Strike a pose! This line alone is enough to describe how influentialMadonna’s “Vogue” was during the 1990s, as it became something of a catchphrase in the period. It drew inspiration from - attention to - vogueing, a dance style created by the queer community in New York that adapts the poses from runways and fashion editorials. The song itself talks about enjoying the dance floor for what it is, no matter who you are, while name-calling many Old Hollywood stars. The video was directed byDavid Fincherand remains to this day one of Madonna’s most iconic music videos. The video takes place in a studio decorated with sculptures, pictures by famous photographers, and many Art Deco references. That, aligned with Madonna herself performing routines along with dancers and vogue legends of the House of Xtravaganza, is a perfect translation of the song onto the screen.
Martin Scorsesedirecting a piece on street gangs and a young man with a change of heart? That’s his typical (and highly successful) formula and, coupled withMichael Jackson’s music, it just couldn’t go wrong. The result is the music video for “Bad,” which turned into a short feature written byRichard Price. The video sees young Darryl (Jackson) leave his expensive private school at the end of the semester and take the subway back home, to a neglected neighborhood in New York City. He reunites with his old gang, led by Mini Max (Wesley Snipes), but relations grow tense as they notice Darryl has had a change of heart while out and is no longer “bad.” Although simple, the video has almost an educational tone - which doesn’t make it any less good. Fewer people navigate filming the streets like Scorsese, and music videos are no different for the acclaimed actor.
Here With Me - The Killers (dir. Tim Burton)
A dark theater. An overly romantic song.Winona Ryder. Obsession. If you haven’t guessed already, we are talking aboutTim Burton, just not about his movies. He only ever directed two music videos, both forThe Killers: “Bones” and “Here With Me”, the latter being the better work to capture his essence as a music video director. Imagine something likeLars and the Real Girldirected by Burton. In the video,Craig Roberts(of indie flickSubmarinefame) is obsessed with a performer played by Ryder. He goes to see her every day but doesn’t dare get any closer. To fill that void, he steals a wax mannequin of her that he dances around with through many locations until he becomes the very thing he obsesses over, as the mannequin comes to life and both of them dine with a candle wick burning over their heads.
Man From The Magazine - HAIM (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
Another Hollywood household name,Paul Thomas Andersonis also an accomplished music video director. He has 21 credits to his name in the field, with strong partnerships with influential artists likeRadioheadandFiona Apple. His biggest working partners, though, areHAIM, of whom he directed eight videos. There’s a bit of everything, from choreographed dance routines (like in “Little of Your Love”) to studio performances (like in “Valentine”), but his best work with the Los Angeles sisters is “Man From the Magazine.” The song features Danielle Haim singing about cases of sexism she and her sisters have been through. It resembles an earlyBob Dylansong, with just voice and acoustic guitar serving as the background for the lyrics to discuss an important topic of our era. In the video, Danielle tends to customers in Canter’s Deli, in Los Angeles, while taking glances at the camera between one client and another, who are all male - an obvious metaphor for how the music industry works.
The Blue Song - Mint Royale (dir. Edgar Wright)
If you have watchedBaby Driver, you know how this goes. A getaway driver sets the exact duration of a song for his gang to perform a robbery and then drive away. In the movie, the scene happens to “Bellbottoms”, byThe John Spencer Blues Explosion. Here, it’s the music video for “The Blue Song” byMint Royale, directed by the very same filmmaker as the movie,Edgar Wright.When analyzing the two pieces, we see that even the driver’s mannerisms – here played byNoel Fielding– are the same. The song came out in 2002, and Wright started writing a script based on the same premise. Around 2010,he even got a suggestion fromJ.J. Abramsto turn the clip into a movie, to which Wright answered: “Way ahead of you!”. He also has a decent track record in the music video field, having directed “Gust of Wind” byPharrell Williams, and “Colors” byBeck.
Around the World - Daft Punk (dir. Michel Gondry)
Michel Gondryis another case of an awesome filmmaker with an extensive career in music videos. He has 27 credits, including collaborations with artists such as theRolling Stones,Björk,Foo Fighters, andThe White Stripes. His best work, though, is his single work with French duoDaft Punkin “Around the World”. Filmed with a slowed-down mix of the song, the image is then accelerated to match the usual rotation. Dancers go around a round track with a texture that resembles a vinyl record, and each group of dancers represents one of the instruments in the song. A few months ago, Daft Punk released an official making-of video, providing us with an amazing look into Gondry’s process and the impeccable work of the dancers.
Losing My Religion - R.E.M. (dir. Tarsem Singh)
Another 1990s gem, the music video for “Losing My Religion” byR.E.M., was another trendsetter in the field. DirectorTarsem Singhworked closely with the band, especially lead singer,Michael Stipe, to create the dreamlike atmosphere, which is heavily reminiscent of baroque art and biblical imagery. The video took home six awards at the 1991 MTV VMAs, including Video of the Year and Best Direction. While R.E.M. would further establish themselves as one of the most influential bands of the period, Singh would go on to become one of the main commercial directors of the decade, moving into feature territory in the 2000s, with movies such asThe FallandImmortals.
